Haverhill, MA Public Conduct: Loitering Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- City Code § 175-1
- Fine
- $50 per offense (§175-3)
- Arrest power
- Without warrant (§175-1B)
- Protected activity
- Peaceful labor picketing exempted
- Enforcing agency
- Haverhill Police Department
Summary
In the City of Haverhill, City Code § 175-1 bars willfully obstructing foot traffic on any street or way the public may use, and makes it a separate offense to refuse a police officer's order to move on; peaceful picketing tied to a labor dispute is expressly protected, and violators can be arrested without a warrant.
§ 175-1. Loitering prohibited; exception; arrest without warrant. ... A. No person or group of persons shall, in a street or a way to which the public has a right of access, as licensees or invitees, willfully obstruct and impede the free passage of foot travelers, nor shall any person or groups of persons, in a street or way to which the public has a right of access as licensees or invitees, after being directed and instructed by a police officer to move on, fail to move; provided, however, that nothing herein contained shall be construed to deny the right of peaceful picketing or parading singly or in numbers, with or without placards, in or on any public way or street where persons may lawfully be in the course of a labor dispute, pursuant to Chapter 150 of the Massachusetts General Laws, or of those lawfully permitted to do so. ... ... B. Any person(s) in violation of the above section may be arrested by any police officer without a warrant.
Full Breakdown
City Code § 175-1 makes it unlawful for any person or group, in a street or way the public may use as licensees or invitees, to "willfully obstruct and impede the free passage of foot travelers." It is a separate violation for anyone in such a street or way, after a police officer directs and instructs them to move on, to "fail to move." The section carves out an explicit exception: nothing in it may be read to deny "the right of peaceful picketing or parading singly or in numbers, with or without placards," in connection with a labor dispute under Chapter 150 of the Massachusetts General Laws, or by anyone otherwise lawfully permitted to do so.
A 1985 amendment (Doc. 173) added Subsection B, which lets "any person(s) in violation of the above section" be "arrested by any police officer without a warrant," so an officer does not need to seek a warrant before taking someone into custody for obstructing a sidewalk or ignoring an order to disperse. The chapter, adopted from Sec. 23-21 of the 1963 City Code and amended 2-15-1977 (Doc. 21), is enforced citywide by the Haverhill Police Department. It is distinct from § 175-2's separate curfew rule for Bradford Common, G.A.R. Park and Merrimack River Park, and from Chapter 189's broader peace-and-good-order provisions.
Violations & Fines
Anyone convicted of obstructing foot passage or refusing a police order to move on under § 175-1 faces a $50 fine per § 175-3, and "any failure or refusal as above defined shall constitute a separate and continuing violation," meaning each refusal or repeated obstruction can be charged again. Because § 175-1B authorizes arrest without a warrant, police may take a person into custody on the spot rather than issuing a citation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as illegal loitering under Haverhill's ordinance?
Is picketing protected under this ordinance?
Can police arrest someone on the spot for loitering in Haverhill?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Haverhill
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